Saturday, March 1, 2014

Subraan, Tracing Layers, Emerging Lines and more..

NEWS

Wo/Man: From the Personal to the Political

( Work on display)

Sir J J School of Art presents an exhibition which looks at the deeper cultural roots of the construction of gender identities and of the relationship between men and women in urban India today. Eight young artists Salik Ansari, Shruti Bhosle, Makarand Dhotre, Yogesh Kamble, Lini Radhakrishnan, Aditya Rajput, Jinal Sangoi and Kruttika Sequeira have come together to showcase their work in the show titled, ‘Wo/Man: From the personal to the political’.

The exhibition looks for connections between the ideas of gender and safety, exclusion and inclusion, protection and segregation. The show plans to use various mediums like sculpture, painting, print, photography, video and performance to explore several ideas of gender.

This exhibition attempts to create a socio-political dialogue not only within the artistic environment the young artists work in but also the city they live in. By analysing the ways of categorising, constructing and representing gender, the artists suggest alternate gender identities through a critique of the framework of our normative gender binary.

The show is on view till 14th March 2014.

Subraan

( work by Ramesh Gurav)

Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai presents the exquisite figurative works of eminent artist Raosaheb Gurav. The show is titled, ‘Subraan’ and will display the vibrant and colourful works of the artist. Raosaheb’s works usually feature the rural and village life, with special focus on the village folk and various communities, from places like Kolhapur and Pune. The ar work in this particular exhibition focuses on the ‘Dhanngar’ community, who rear cattle. The works portray landscapes, rural lives and farmlands with the protagonists at their everyday jobs as goat and cow herds. The works are rendered in various mediums like water colours, oils, acrylics pen and inks.

The show is on view till 4th March 2014.

Emerging Lines

( work on display)

Mahua Art Gallery, Bangalore presents a show titled, ‘Emerging Lines’, a new series of works by artist Shirley Mathew who expresses her perceptions of a growing city, through her paintings. Using colours to portray the seasons interspersed with geometrical forms, suggests the viewer to go through a journey and make their own impression of the representational icons used to convey the message.

Her observations during a recent journey through Italy making note of the aesthetics of humanity merging at times with what she believes is uncompromising terrain, was truly inspiring enough to do a series to paintings. Shirley has great interest in organizing annual art awareness shows, to connect with people and to create an environment for an informal viewing of art in her studio courtyard.

The show is on till 8th March 2014.

Tracing Layers

Ananya Drishya and Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bangalore present a solo show of art works by the artist Ramesh Kalkur. The show is titled, ‘Tracing Layers’. Ramesh completed Diploma in painting at Ken School of Art, Bangalore 1990, Post Diploma in Painting at Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda 1993 and M A in Painting at Royal College of Art, London, 1996. Held several solo exhibitions including 'Assemblages' at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai 1994, Traveling show of photographs, Sakshi Art Gallery, Bangalore, British Council Gallery, Chennai, Chitram Art Gallery, Cochin 1998, ”11 X 11” at Sumukha Art Gallery among several others.

He received the Inlaks grant for artist in residence at Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad, 1991, Inlaks Foundation Scholarship and Overseas Development Association shared scholarship scheme to study at Royal College of Art, 1994 – 96, John Minton Travel Grant for three months exchange program to study at Art college in Berlin.

The show commences on 8th March 2014.(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

New contexts of tradition

The exhibition 2D3D by Gallery-g at the Taj West End showcases traditional ideas in a Western aesthetic

(Normalising the gods)

The East and West come together, in the exhibition of ‘fusion art’ titled ‘2D3D’ presented by Gallery-g at the Taj West End.

The exhibition features three artists — Priti Singh, Kandi Narasimalu and Sri Lanka-based Leo Pasquale. The three artists deal with a range of subjects that span across timelines in human history, from the ancient/mythological, the old and the modern.

Priti Singh expresses her love for Indian mythology through her series of paintings depicting Indian Gods and Goddesses in a rather contemporary context. The Gods and Goddesses, in all their finery are seen performing every task, Shiva lounges on the sofa with a drink while the Devi, seated above on a carpet is adorning herself with lipstick and nail polish. In another instance, he is seen doing his tandav with an electric guitar (complete with an amplifier in the background).

Priti also depicts a divine family scene where Shiva and his consort are bathing Ganesha. Shiva pours water while the Devi scrubs him. Karthikeya meanwhile is bathing himself in a blue bathtub. “I have always been fascinated by Indian mythology because I belong to Benares and my family used to spend a lot of time visiting temples. So this always reflects in my paintings,” says Priti. “But I don’t think God only slays demons and helps us solve our problems from somewhere above. I think Gods also lead normal lives like us,” says Priti.

Priti’s Gods are painted in vivid fluorescent shades set against light backgrounds. She draws her inspiration from the walls of Ujjain, Benares and rural Rajasthan, where the figures are often painted in these shades. Priti says she also draws her imagery from the tradition of the Gonds, among whom she has spent time working.

Kandi Narasimalu meanwhile is preoccupied with the life and the people of rural Andhra. His canvases are filled with tall, strong frames of the women and men on Andhra’s heartlands. The women are dark-skinned, with lean figures and curvy bosoms. They wear shiny golden jewellery, which the artist draws attention to through his embellishments. Their attire is vibrant, contrasting with their dark skin.

The women are seen gossiping, dressing themselves in front of the mirror with a comb tucked in the folds of their saris and carrying their wares over their heads.

“In my paintings I usually depict my family and their lifestyle in the village and so my works have a distinct rural aesthetic. The traditional culture in the villages is fast disappearing; so many aspects of our heritage are disappearing. So I have tried to draw attention to some of these tangible aspects of our heritage,” says Narasimalu, whose imagery is deeply inspired by his work in the field of 2D animation, in its minimalism of line and form.

The exhibition also features works by Leo Pasquale. ‘2D3D’ will be on view at the Taj West End, Race Course Road, until March 3rd 2014.